Synopsis:

e-male was adapted for the screen from a brilliant one-woman stage show, "Surfing", written by Rob Young, which enjoyed great success at the Edinburgh Theater Festival in 1997. It tells the story of Vicki (played by Frances Grey), a young woman occupying the apartment of her realestate-agent boyfriend, Charles, who has abandoned her. Although six weeks have gone by since his disappearance, Vicki keeps his Rolex watch hanging around her neck, still hoping he might come home any minute.

Having intercepted a personal email message from an unknown woman on Charles' portable computer, Vicki begins corresponding with the woman, posing as Charles, in the hope of finding out where he went. The content of the messages is increasingly erotic and the two women develop an anonymous and sexually ambiguous relationship which becomes so intense that they begin to fall in love. But it transpires that both of them are hiding behind false identities, which are only revealed when it is too late.

This film examines several themes poignant to these millenial times: communication and virtual intimacy, the borders between sex and emotional attachment, sexual orientation and its potential ambiguities.

e-male was commissioned by ARTE for French and German Television and produced in London by Sweet Child Films.